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My nose burned from the lingering smell of antiseptic and overheated machinery from the long hours spent in the lab this week.
I was already pissed off with the idiots I call my coworkers. If they weren't splitting hairs with each other, then they would be talking about the newest biology outbreaks; research that didn't even include ours.
A cracked specimen container sat in front of me, while those morons argued behind my back about contamination protocols I'd already explained twice.
In order to remove the contaminants from the sample, I'd have to get it prepped to spin. I shouldn't even be responsible for this, but I will not have any work under my name be botched.You would think the top biologists would be more organized than this.
Though they could be useful sometimes, I just hope they take their heads out of their asses for once before screwing up our research as they did earlier.
"It's done." I got up after placing them in the centrifuge.
One of them began to speak, "Hey! We were still debating-"
"Don't touch it or I'll kill you both." The gloves on my hands were stripped off and thrown into a nearby trash can. Their frustration targeted me as I walked out, but I couldn't be bothered to hear about it.
Maybe I could've handled them better. I mean, it was already late, and it was faster if I did it myself anyway.
As I walked out, I looked outside a nearby window, looking up at a shimmering starโit appeared to have a teal hue.
I wish light pollution would just die already. Maybe then we'd actually be able to see more than just a broad number of stars in the sky.
I caught myself looking up for an unusual amount of timeโmaybe it was the curiosity that flooded my mind, or just the way it was positioned in the sky that hooked my attention.
My head turned to the long corridor that stretched towards the vending machines. I haven't eaten since lunch this morning, with those losers being on my coattails. As I approached one, I browsed the pitiful catalog of snacks.
As my eyes shifted back up, they focused on a smudge in the glass of what looked like a tall figure distorted in the smudged reflection. I turned around, meeting with a pale, lanky yet sophisticated guy.
"Katsuki Bakugou," He spoke, not questioning who he was talking to. His tailored suit was pristine, yet practicalโa uniform that spoke of authority rather than flair. His eyes were scrutinizing me, but I wasn't intimidated.
"That's me." The drop of my chips fell behind me, but I ignored it.
"Aizawa, from NASA. We want to offer you a role in our upcoming project." A small strand of his hair covered his right eye when he spoke; he didn't seem troubled by it.
My eyebrows furrowed, confused by his proposition. Was this guy messing with me right now? I couldn't deal with another nuisance.
He reached for his pocket to pull out his registered badge, displaying it to me. His name was starting to sound familiar. I think my colleagues may have mentioned his work in the latest space probe mission.
Was he NASA's director?
"What's the project?" I asked, curiously.
He retrieved his ID from his pocket, stuffing his hands along with it. Even though he tried to act carefree, his poise, straight posture and polished tone suggested otherwise.
"A journey to space. There's been a signal coming from a planet called Toshi, circling a close star that we want to take a closer look at. We've gotten patterns of radio and infrared waves that don't match with any other planet๐well, the EM spectrum can only tell us so much." He explained.
What a coincidence, I thought. The same star I've been eyeing was the same as NASA's newest project, "Toshi, huh?"
"We know you've rejected our last few projects, but we ask that you carefully consider this opportunity." Yet again, he pulled something else from his suit compartment. It was a thin card this time๐he offered it to me.
I accepted it, reading the fine print of a phone number with his full name: Shota Aizawa.
"With your expertise in biology and as a Laboratory director, we would appreciate your help."
The card was kept in my pocket before reaching for the chips behind me, "I'll think about it."
My feet strolled away, thinking about what he said. I didn't want to spend any more time "locking" eyes with him when I had other stuff to take care of before I left tonight.
Maybe this would be a good opportunity for me to finally learn something new about the universe, rather than researching the same stuff I see every day. I have made discoveries in the past few years, but nothing has caught my attention and been so coincidental before.
Deliberately, I urged him to turn to see if he was following me or if he was looking back. Instead, my body lingered for a while outside the lab. My lungs exhaled, trying to regain composure before walking back inside.
I finally slid the door open, hoping my colleagues would have left by now. But there they were, patiently waiting for the centrifuge to finish. It still had a couple more minutes left.
They were being unexpectedly quiet this time, a little strange for them to be anywhere near silent.
Their attention moved to me, probably noticing the food that was restricted. I wasn't going to eat inside the lab; I was only making sure they weren't doing anything I told them not to.
The one on the left took a deep inhale before speaking, "We apologize for earlier, we know we've been chaotic the past few days."
"Yeah, it's just the upcoming deadlines got us stressed and all!" The other chimed in.
At this point, I didn't care anymore. The specimen was already spinning, so I might as well let them examine it, write their findings and report it to me tomorrow.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you guys are finishing, then I'm going home," I sighed.
They agreed to let me leave, promising to take care of the work๐and I did trust them that much.
When I arrived home, I cooked myself a quick dinner to get my mind off that dumb planet. But everything I did, I was always reminded of that unforeseen space travel ride. My attention peered from my kitchen table to my balcony.
The telescope standing there was uncovered from the night before; I needed to put the cap back on before the lens got dirty. But maybe I could use it one last time tonight.
Without thinking, I pulled the door to the left and stepped onto the terrace to set up the telescope and line it up with the star.
Before, I was always admiring the star, but to know there was a planet there had me more intrigued.
The telescope logged the coordinates and carefully moved with the sky until it found its destination.
My eye jumped straight down into the lensโmy pupils burning from the stars' lightโbut I didn't think the telescope was strong enough to affect my vision. When my iris focused on the star, I searched the surrounding space for a terrestrial planet. Not like I could see one that easily, but I secretly hoped for a change.
I sat down in a nearby lawn chair, pulling out the card I was handed earlier. It wouldn't be such a bad idea, and it may be a good break from my work.
My brain couldn't wrap around the strange way everything was connecting suddenly, and it created a bit of uncertainty inside of me. This could be a ticket to a bigger recognition in my field, or the complete opposite. I could be wasting time and research for nothing.
I sighed, pouncing my leg and tightly gripping the card in my hands.
But the way everything was falling into my lap could be something I needed to take advantage of. What other time in the future would an opportunity like this be handed to me? And I'd get to be away from my colleagues for a little bit, depending on the travel time. I wasn't too worried about coming back if I discovered something huge. At least everyone would remember me as the man who set foot on a whole new world.
That is, if it's safe to be on.
"Fine, I'm going," I spoke to myself, as if the star could hear me.
When I first imagined NASA, I imagined a big, modern-looking placeโand it still did look similarโbut it was clearly under budget.
I walked through the wide doors that had no purpose being that large with one person walking through every few minutes or so.
I bet I was their first guest in days.
My eyes steered around the place to try to catch that guy I met the other day, but instead, I met what looked like a launch crew. They had headsets all lined up, matching navy training suits, and people with clipboards discussing where to go.
There was one guy with light blonde hair, a bit darker than mine, who had what looked like a black lightning bolt in his hair. The other beside him had red hair, obviously dyed from the black roots that were peeking from his hair crown.
"One of you live-wires knows where Aizawa is?" I crossed my arms, watching them glance at each other like he was in one of their pockets.
"Over here," I heard that familiar voice call out to me to my left.
The way I spun around to meet him may have been a little too fast for my watch; I wouldn't want to let them know I'm excited about this, or else they'll get soft on me.
"I don't see a board asking for my name, so where do I sign up?" My tone moved from slight aggression to ease.
"We're glad to have you join. Interestingly enough, this is the team that you'll be working with." His arms waved to the small crowd of people who were staring at me now.
Just great, I thought. These guys were basically replicas of my coworkers in my lab with their aggravating jokes.
Never mind that, I was going through with this. There was no turning back now, and I've already embarrassed myself showing up here.
"I'm Denki Kaminari, nice to meet you!" He lifted his hand, "I am the engineer on this teamโyou can't get any better than me."
He smirked slyly while speaking with confidence and self-assurance. His comfortable attitude suggested he's been with this team for a while. The other guy, on the other hand, looked new as his presentation seemed reserved.
"Eijiriou KirishimaโI am the pilot for the upcoming mission. Pleasure to meet you!" His lips and teeth formed an upbeat smile.
I was already annoyed with their buoyancy in such a short amount of time. How could I survive living with them on a ship for what I assumed may be months? I introduced myself anyway, so they should know my status to know that I don't screw around.
"Katsuki Bakugo, lead biology researcher," I spoke firmly, reminding myself why they chose me for this mission at all.
"That's so cool! So you like messing around with dead things for research?" The blonde cluelessly asked, which I almost laughed from disbelief.
Kirishima barged in, "Dude, you're thinking of some kind of animal pathologist! The things he studies are alive, right?" He glanced over at me to confirm. I was relieved that at least one person wasn't completely oblivious, but he still was off.
"Depends on the research I'm doing," I sighed.
Our conversation was luckily cut short as Aizawa urged us to move into a more private area to discuss the plans of the mission. He migrated all of us, including the large crew, into a small conference room. I would expect a bigger area for the number of people we needed for this projectโthe number of crew members caused some concern.
The man stood in front of the narrow table, with all of us consuming it. The air inside was a bit stiff and overcrowded, but that wasn't something the fancy man was distressed about.
He had some plans on a whiteboard that stuck with magnets; they seemed like a projection of the launch and the trajectory of the journey. In small font, I could read a small number already compiled in the corner beside the dotted line that connected the earth to the star: 6 months.
Internally, I released a small groan. I could be spending more than a year in space. Not even considering the time difference between the planet and our Earth.
Aizawa began to explain the purpose of the mission, mentioning that they had been following a signal from a distant planet for about two years. Over time, it has pulsed at a quicker speed than it did before.
With scientists worldwide, they have concluded it could possibly be a call for help from another civilization. The patterns, the signal, it was too intentional. It definitely didn't have the characteristics of a pulsar, as it was a planet, and he finally elaborated how nothing natural could explain it.
Only Kaminari, Kirishima and I are going to board the ship. He even suggested it was a risky ride and we could always reconsider our options.
This was my only shot to finally do something huge in my career. Without hesitation, I briefly asked, "When do we leave?"